


i can't regret the things i don't try

by awoogah123



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Best Friends, Broken Bones, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Hand Jobs, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Philadelphia Flyers, Sex, Shower Sex, Smut, Whump, Winter, ice hockey, teammates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:28:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29885967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awoogah123/pseuds/awoogah123
Summary: “Got something to hide?” Travis smirked, glancing down at Nolan’s underwear.“Keep saying stuff like that and I’m going to think that youwantto see it,” Nolan said, reaching over Travis and retrieving the shampoo. Travis didn’t deny it, just simply shrugged.Okay,thatwas a little weird.***Nolan's day off took amajorturn of events when he got a call from Travis asking to pick him up from the hospital. Who would've thought a broken wrist could've led tothis?
Relationships: Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick
Comments: 4
Kudos: 78





	i can't regret the things i don't try

Nolan _loved_ his days off. Don’t get me wrong, he _adored_ his job, playing for the Flyers was a dream come true, but that didn’t mean the idea of being able to sleep in and becoming a couch potato for the day was any _less_ attractive. In fact, it made it _more_ so - down time didn’t come often, and Nolan was going to cherish _every_ second of it.

Like, take today for example - 10:30a.m. on a Thursday morning and Nolan was _still_ in bed, not a practice in sight. He couldn’t say he wasn’t pleased, all he wanted was to slump back into the pillows and take a nice, _long_ \--

_Ring ring ring._

Nolan was pretty sure if he just _ignored_ it, it would disappear. Yes, that sounded about right.

And it worked, Nolan curled up, comforter pulled up around his neck, keeping the harsh winter chill away. He was seconds away from falling back into a blissful sleep…

_Ring ring ring. Ringringringring._

“For fuck’s sake,” Nolan huffed, slowly levering himself off the mattress. So much for a day off…

The caller ID read: _Travis,_ and Nolan couldn’t think of a _possible_ reason why Travis might think it was acceptable to be calling Nolan _this_ early on their _day off._

Phone heavy in his hand, Nolan stared it down - maybe if he let it ring a couple more times Travis would get the hint, hang up.

He _didn’t_ get the hint.

With a groan, Nolan slid his finger across the phone screen, accepting the call.

“ _Travis,_ ” Nolan huffed, rubbing at his sleepy eyes with his free hand. “What the fuck, man? I was sleeping.”

Nolan was met with silence, and he was _seconds_ away from hanging up - had Travis _really_ called him up to just _ignore_ him? _Jesus,_ how bored _was_ he?

But then he spoke.

“Hey, can you pick me up?” Travis asked, ignoring Nolan’s grumbling.

“Pick you up?” Nolan repeated, dragging a hand through his messy bedhead. “What? Where are you?”

There was a pause before Travis answered.

“The hospital.”

“ _What?_ ” Nolan asked, and it sounded screechy to his _own_ ears, but in his defense, it was _way_ too early to be talking about _hospitals._ “Why? Are you hurt?”

Travis sighed - long and tired. Nolan bit his tongue, holding back the bombardment of questions that were threatening to leave his lips - Travis didn’t really sound in the mood to chat.

“Look, I’ll tell you later,” Travis sighed. “Can you just come? _Please?_ ”

However grouchy Nolan might be feeling, he wasn’t going to let Travis down - he _couldn’t_. If Travis needed help, Nolan was going to help. Even if he _wasn’t_ too happy about it…

“You owe me,” Nolan muttered, pulling the phone away from his ear and hanging up the call.

He sat on his bed for a moment longer, gaze trained on the alarm clock on his bedside table that didn’t even read _11:00a.m._ yet - Travis couldn’t have at least waited another _hour_ until he suddenly needed an emergency ride from the hospital.

Apparently not, especially if the text he’d just sent Nolan was anything to go by: _You better be leaving, jackass._

With a sigh, Nolan tossed his phone onto the bed - he had a good mind to tell Travis to ask someone _else_ to pick him up, if he was such a _jackass._ But he didn’t.

Instead, Nolan cleaned his teeth in record time and changed his basketball shorts for a pair of grey sweats and pulled on a thick hoodie. He was just about to make his way out the front door when _another_ text came through - _Bring me a t-shirt._

Nolan was about to question it, but, for the sake of a quiet life, he snatched a t-shirt from his dresser and made his way out to his car.

The roads were a little icy and the car was _freezing,_ even with the heating on full blast - Travis _really_ better have a good explanation.

Nolan drove to the hospital on auto-pilot, not even registering the sound of the radio or the slew of Philadelphia traffic that filled the streets, he was _tired._ And he didn’t feel any more awake when he pulled up outside the Emergency Room.

The Emergency Room was pretty quiet - probably because no one else was dumb enough to leave the house when it was under _thirty_ degrees. Seriously, Nolan felt like his ass was going to freeze off, and he was from _Winnipeg._ Anyway, the lack of patients meant that Travis was pretty easy to spot.

Travis was sat to the side of the room, doubled over. His head was bent down, dark hair hanging in his eyes - he hadn’t even _noticed_ Nolan’s entrance.

As he made his way over, Nolan noticed Travis’s outfit: a large powder blue t-shirt that he’d never seen before and - _muddy?_ \- sweats. What the hell had he been up to?

“Hey,” Nolan said, dropping down onto the seat opposite Travis. Travis was yet to look up, so Nolan stretched one of his long legs out and bumped Travis’s foot with his own.

When Travis looked up Nolan’s eyes flew open.

He wasn’t really _sure_ what he’d expected - being called to an emergency room, and all - but he just figured that nothing was really up. Travis was visiting someone, maybe? Travis _wasn’t_ visiting someone.

A nasty scrape covered Travis’s chin, and his lips were swollen and bruised, the bottom one bust open.

“ _Fuck._ ” Nolan jumped up from his chair, “What happened? Are you okay?”

Travis was quiet for a moment, levelling Nolan with a solemn gaze as he crossed the aisle and dropped into the seat beside him. Nolan had turned to face him, blue eyes wide with concern.

He was just about to repeat his question when Travis took a sharp intake of air.

“I fell,” Travis mumbled, and as his lips moved, Nolan’s attention was drawn to the two large chips in Travis’s front teeth - he looked more like he’d been hit by a _bus._ And he hadn’t even seen the worst of it yet.

Travis slowly lifted his right arm, as if it weighed a _tonne,_ and presented his right wrist - which, judging by the white plaster cast that encased it - was broken.

“ _Jesus,_ TK,” Nolan gasped, reaching out to touch Travis’s wrist and then thinking better of it. “What did you do?”

“I fell,” Travis repeated, as if _that_ was a reasonable explanation for why he looked like this. It was _not._

“Off a cliff?” Nolan asked, eyebrows flying up. Travis rolled his grey eyes.

“Har. _Funny,_ ” Travis shot Nolan a mean glare.

“I’m not _trying_ to be funny,” Nolan defended. “What happened?”

“I was going out for a run,” Travis mumbled, hanging his head. “I must’ve hit an icy patch because I slipped, fell off the curb.”

Well, Nolan couldn’t say he was particularly _surprised_ \- the street looked like an _ice rink_ right now.

“And you thought it would be a good idea to go out in this weather _because…_ ” Nolan prompted. When Travis didn’t answer, he continued, “Last time I checked you had a perfectly good treadmill inside.”

Travis sat up straight, sore chin jerked out stubbornly, giving Nolan a _perfect_ view of his t-shirt. Nolan was right in thinking he’d never seen the shirt before, in fact, he was kind of _glad_ he’d never seen the shirt before. It was atrocious in this horrifying sickly sweet way.

A large brown bear sat in the centre of the shirt, a large pink heart balloon held in one paw and a _toy_ bear held to its chest in the other. And to make matters even _worse_ \- or better, depending on your opinion on tacky bear shirts - white swirly writing curved around the bear: _Cuddle Bear._

What the fuck?

“Unlike you,” Travis huffed, “ _some_ people actually _like_ getting fresh air.” Nolan just stared at him blankly, he had no idea what he’d _just_ said, let alone whatever the hell Travis was talking about. That shirt was kind of distracting him in the _worst_ kind of way.

“What the fuck are you _wearing,_ man?” Nolan blurted, because there _must_ be an explanation for this. There _must._

“Yeah, my shirt got kind of dirty when I fell,” Travis sighed, running a hand through his dark waves. “This is all they had in the hospital store.”

“Kids’s section, right?” Nolan smirked, because chirping Travis about his height would _never_ get old.

Travis scowled at him. Nolan made a quick mental note - Travis wasn’t in the mood for jokes - that was fine, he could go along with that. _Right?_

“That’s why I asked you to bring me another shirt,” Travis asked, eyes searching Nolan’s hands for any sign of said shirt.

“Would you be pissed if I told you I’d left it in the car?” Nolan asked, shoulders slumping. He could see it now, _right_ where he’d left it on the passenger seat.

“For fuck’s sake,” Travis growled, uninjured hand clenching into a fist. Nolan reached out and took Travis’s hand, unclenching his fingers and giving it a quick squeeze; Travis’s eyes had locked on their hands, gaze heated and intense. Nolan quickly pulled away - not quite understanding Travis’s small frown as he did - apparently Travis wasn’t in the mood for a _tactile_ friend right now either. It was fine, Nolan could deal with that too.

“You could give me your hoodie,” Travis suggested, gaze flicking up to meet Nolan’s.

“No way,” Nolan shook his head vehemently. “I’m naked underneath this.”

“So?” Travis’s gaze was unflinching. Nolan reversed the roles in his head - if _he_ was hurt in the hospital, wearing a frankly _terrifying_ t-shirt of a bear whose eyes seemed to follow you, would _Travis_ take his hoodie off for him? Travis was bigger than Nolan, more muscly whereas Nolan was more lean; Nolan had noticed the way his muscles flexed when he was in the shower, his strong back. Travis probably wouldn’t get as _cold_ as Nolan would, but-- _Why_ was Nolan picturing his best friend in the shower? Now was _not_ the right time for this - was _ever?_

Nolan shook his head, potentially getting hypothermia for saving Travis a _little_ bit of embarrassment just wasn’t worth it.

“Sorry, dude,” Nolan said, clapping Travis’s shoulder, “looks like you’re just going to have to wear the shirt.” He paused, face splitting into a huge grin, “You make quite the cute little _cuddle bear,_ eh?”

Travis just glared at him, and _what_ was that Nolan had said about no jokes earlier? Travis was _clearly_ not in the mood - not that Nolan could really blame him, current circumstances and all.

***

Travis complained pretty much the _whole_ way to the car _and_ when he was inside. Even when he’d changed into Nolan’s t-shirt - the arms a little snug as they clung to his biceps but overall a little too long for him - and tossed the _Cuddle Bear_ monstrosity into the backseat.

“Does your car not _have_ heating?” Travis muttered, jabbing at random buttons on the console with his left hand. Nolan swatted it away.

“Quit that, would you?” he sighed, pulling out of the hospital parking lot. “The heating’s on, just takes a little while to warm up, that’s all.”

“It’ll be warm by the time we’ve gotten _out_ of the car,” Travis whinged. He was hurting and he apparently he wanted _everyone_ to share the pain.

“That reminds me,” Nolan said, glancing sideways at Travis, “where do you want me to drop you off? Back home?”

Travis was silent for a moment, shifting in his seat as he turned to look out the window. Nolan wanted to watch him but he was driving, so it was kind of impossible.

“I don’t know,” Travis mumbled, so quietly Nolan had to turn down the radio to hear him. “The nurse told me I shouldn’t be alone today - I don’t have a concussion or anything, but just in case.”

“You want to come back to mine?” Nolan asked, he’d already resigned himself to the _least_ relaxing day off _ever_ anyway - what was one more thing to add to the list? Besides, it wasn’t like he _didn’t_ enjoy Travis’s company - he did. A _lot._ Even _grouchy_ Travis, apparently.

“If you don’t mind,” Travis said, glancing back at Nolan over his shoulder. He flashed Nolan a quick smile - _well,_ more of a _half_ -smile, really, but Nolan wasn’t about to be picky - giving him a quick look at his banged up teeth.

Nolan turned back to the road, fighting a chuckle - the situation was so _un_ funny, it was kind of _funny._ Still, he didn’t think Travis would appreciate the _un_ funniness of it.

Apparently he didn’t hide his chuckle quick enough.

“What are you laughing at?” Travis asked, brows pulled together in a small frown.

“Nothing,” Nolan shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road. He didn’t even have to turn around to know that Travis was glaring at him, he could feel the laser beams boring _holes_ into the side of his face. He was quick to relinquish. “ _Okay,_ ” Nolan sighed, “I was just thinking. This is all kind of funny.”

“ _Funny?_ ” Travis exclaimed, and _yeah,_ Nolan probably could’ve thought of a _better_ way to phrase it when his friend was sat beside him with a fractured wrist, broken teeth and a scraped up face. “Oh, I would _love_ to hear your reasoning behind this,” Travis continued, “you _asshole._ ”

“I didn’t mean it like _that,_ ” Nolan huffed, glancing sideways to see Travis _glowering_ at him. “I meant it in an _ironic_ way. Like, the _hockey_ player slips on some ice going out for a _run_ and breaks his teeth.” Nolan paused. “It _is_ kind of ironic.”

“Fuck irony,” Travis murmured, but Nolan noticed the small twitch of Travis’s lips, the small smirk that _threatened_ to break out but that Travis was trying _so_ hard to stop. He took it as a win.

“I mean, at least you could lie to people,” Nolan shrugged. “Pretend you broke your teeth in a _cool_ way.”

“A _cool_ way?” Travis asked, wrinkling his nose. “ _Is_ there a cool way?”

“Well sure there is,” Nolan smiled. “You know, like a puck to the teeth, getting hit in the face by a stick. _Anything_ really. Well, other than slipping and biting the pavement.” Travis winced.

“Fuck you.”

“I’m just joking,” Nolan laughed, taking the next turning - they were only a couple of minutes away from his apartment. “You think you’ll get them fixed though?”

“I’m not sure,” Travis shrugged, attention mostly on the window; he swirled a finger around the cool, clouded glass, painting shapes in the condensation as he spoke. “The nurses said they could put, like, caps on my teeth, but I’m not sure.” He turned so that he was facing Nolan, “How do they look?”

Nolan turned as he pulled up at a red stop light, Travis was baring his teeth at him. There was a sizeable chunk out of the left front tooth, and a smaller one out of the right - to be honest, they didn’t even look _that_ bad. Not in the league of _some_ of the hockey players Nolan had come across anyway.

“I don’t know,” Nolan shrugged, “I think it looks pretty cool.” He paused, tilting his head sideways as he got a better look, “You look _rugged,_ you know? Like a _real_ hockey player.”

“Maybe I’ll keep them then,” Travis shrugged, mouth curving into a _real_ smile. “It’ll be proof that I _am_ the real hockey player out of the two of us.”

“Watch it,” Nolan warned, lifting his foot off the brake as the light turned to green. “I might just make you get out _and_ give me my t-shirt back. You’d have to find your own way home in your cute little bear shirt. That is if you _didn’t_ fall over again.”

Travis frowned at him.

“Too soon?” Nolan asked, choking back a laugh.

“Too soon,” Travis confirmed.

***

Travis all but _collapsed_ on the couch when they reached Nolan’s apartment; he lay sprawled out on the black leather, right arm held out in front of him, careful not to squash it.

“I’m bored,” Travis huffed, after being out of the car for all of _two minutes._ Nolan smirked.

“Isn’t there something you should be doing?” Nolan asked, slumping against the living room doorway. He crossed his arms over his chest.

“Like what?” Travis asked, stretching his neck back as he strained to look at Nolan. He looked funny upside down.

“I don’t know,” Nolan shrugged. “Don’t you have to call Coach? Chuck?” Nolan had never personally sustained an injury like this off the rink, so he wasn’t too sure how to go about it. He figured calling the team’s Coach and the GM was a good start.

“I called Coach after you,” Travis said, dragging a hand across his jaw. “I sent Chuck an email too.”

“What did they say?” Nolan asked.

“They want me to go in for a meeting,” Travis replied, “tomorrow, maybe. Whenever I feel up to it.”

“I can give you a lift,” Nolan offered.

“Thanks,” Travis said, flashing Nolan a grin.

Nolan peeled himself off the wall, he felt awake now - going to the hospital did that to someone - but he still felt a little groggy. He hadn’t had the chance to shower this morning and he was _sure_ his hair was still sticking up at every which angle.

With a sigh, Nolan started to pull his hoodie off. His head was inside the warm material when Travis started to speak,

“What are you doing?”

“I need to shower,” Nolan said, pulling the hoodie over his head, it fell in a heap to the floor. “ _Somebody_ ruined my morning routine.”

“Don’t lie,” Travis smirked. “Like you had _any_ intention of getting up today.”

Nolan stuck his tongue out because Travis was right and he _knew_ it. Travis didn’t reciprocate the gesture, opting to stare at Nolan instead. Travis’s stare was heavy and penetrating, raking over Nolan’s chest.

Suddenly feeling a little self-conscious about being shirtless in front of his best friend - which seriously made _no_ sense, seeing as they were _always_ in the locker room together - Nolan shuffled on his feet. The movement caught Travis’s attention and his gaze snapped up to meet Nolan’s.

“Don’t take a shower,” Travis said, apparently unaware of Nolan’s current awkwardness.

“W-what?” Nolan asked, ducking down and retrieving his hoodie. “Why?”

“You can shower later,” Travis said, slowly rising to a sitting position. He watched as Nolan quickly pulled the hoodie back on, “Come watch TV or something.”

Nolan opened his mouth to argue but he couldn’t say no to Travis’s doe eyes, not when he looked all bruised and sad.

“ _Fine,_ ” Nolan sighed, stuffing his hands into the large pocket on the front of his hoodie. “But first, snacks.”

***

Nolan thought it all felt surprisingly domestic as he and Travis lay on the couch, cuddled up beneath a fleece blanket his mom had brought over on her last visit. He’d meant to get up _ages_ ago, but the repeats of _Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares_ they’d started watching _hours_ ago was surprisingly enticing. Plus, Travis seemed pretty content too, and not in too much pain - at least, he hadn’t started complaining.

Nolan thought too soon.

“My arm hurts,” Travis whinged, rolling his head sideways so that he was facing Nolan. Nolan gave him a small sympathetic smile.

“Well, _yeah_ , that’s kind of what happens when you break your wrist.”

“I know _that,_ asshole,” Travis mumbled, shooting Nolan a quick glare. “I want my painkillers.”

Before leaving the hospital, the nurse had given Travis some more ibuprofen and that had been a little over three hours ago. To be honest, Nolan was surprised Travis had lasted _this_ long.

“No can do,” Nolan said, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. “Nurse said you’ve got to wait _four_ hours.”

“It’s _been_ four hours,” Travis argued. It hadn’t, but Nolan slid his phone from his pocket and checked the time. Just as he thought - Travis had at _least_ another half an hour before he was entitled to his next dose.

“It hasn’t,” Nolan assured him. “You’ve just got to wait a little while longer.”

“But it _hurts,_ ” Travis cried, dramatically flopping back against the cushions. He looked so _pathetic_ Nolan couldn’t _help_ but sympathise.

He dropped down beside Travis, head resting on the same cushion.

“You need to distract yourself,” Nolan said quietly, turning sideways so he was facing Travis. It took a moment but Travis returned the gesture, until they were nose-to-nose, staring into each other’s eyes.

“How?” Travis asked, breath warm against Nolan’s cheek.

“What do you _want_ to do?” Nolan asked, voice dropping to a whisper.

“I don’t know,” Travis replied, he blinked a couple times. “I’m just--” his words were cut off with a loud yawn.

“Maybe you should take a nap,” Nolan suggested - come to think of it, Travis did look _really_ tired, as was expected from the shitty day he’d had.

“Yeah,” Travis murmured, letting his eyes slowly flicker closed. Nolan was just about to get up - at least this gave him an opportunity to have a shower - when Travis’s arm dropped to his waist, his _injured_ arm. “Don’t leave,” Travis mumbled, already half asleep.

And so Nolan didn’t, he stayed curled up beside his best friend, warm and cozy beneath the blanket and let sleep welcome him into its soothing hold.

***

In retrospect, Nolan _seriously_ regretted taking a nap - they always seemed like such a good idea and ended up being such a _bad_ one. What was meant to be a quick half-an-hour nap turned into a full _three-hour_ sleep, and when Nolan _finally_ woke up, Travis was already awake beside him, watching him.

“You could’ve woken me up,” Nolan murmured, bringing a hand to his mouth and stifling a yawn. Travis shrugged.

“You looked like you needed a sleep,” Travis said, toying with the edge of the blanket. “Besides, I felt bad for waking you up this morning.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Nolan shrugged, except it kind of _was_ \- no one _forced_ Travis to go for a run on icy streets.

“ _Well…_ ” Travis’s mouth curved up into a smirk. “It kind of is.”

“It _totally_ is,” Nolan hastily agreed, mouth splitting into a huge grin. Travis ineffectually batted Nolan’s arm with his left hand, flipping Nolan off with his right.

“Whatever, _loser,_ ” Travis grinned, “at least _I_ don’t drool in my sleep.”

“ _Hey,_ I don’t either!” At least Nolan didn’t _think_ he did. He discreetly brought a hand up to his mouth and it was _dry_ , thank you very much.

Travis just chuckled, slumping back against the cushions, he was closed in between Nolan and the back of the couch but he didn’t seem to mind. One of Travis’s legs was slung over Nolan’s and it felt nice and warm, Nolan didn’t _ever_ want to get up. But he _had_ to - he hadn’t even showered yet.

With a sigh, Nolan reluctantly pushed himself up off the couch, he dragged a hand through his unruly shock of golden brown hair.

“You want your painkillers?” Nolan asked, looking down at Travis. “I think I’m going to take a shower.”

“Please,” Travis replied, shifting around into a sitting position. “You mind if I shower too? I feel like I _reek_ of hospitals.”

“Better than your usual scent,” Nolan called as he made his way out to the kitchen, Travis’s painkillers were on the kitchen counter. He heard Travis’s “fuck you” clearly, and he could almost _see_ the finger Travis was no doubt giving him through the wall.

“Thanks,” Travis muttered, swallowing two tablets with a gulp of water once Nolan had passed him the painkillers.

“No problem,” Nolan shrugged, leading Travis down the hallway to his bedroom. Nolan’s ensuite probably had to be his favourite room in the house - any room which had a double shower _and_ a bath was automatically winning.

“What are you going to do about that arm?” Nolan asked, watching as Travis dropped to the bed. “You can’t get that cast wet.”

“ _Shit,_ ” Travis muttered. “I forgot about that.”

“We can just stick a plastic bag on it,” Nolan suggested. “Stay there, I’ll be back in a second.”

By the time Nolan had walked back to the kitchen, grabbed a plastic bag from the cupboard, some tape _and_ some scissors, Travis was sat shirtless, his - or _Nolan’s,_ to be exact - shirt thrown to the foot of the bed. The sight of Travis on his bed, _half-naked,_ was strange and Nolan hesitated before stepping in.

“Thanks,” Travis smiled, gaze bouncing between Nolan and the bundle of resources in his arm.

“It’s fine,” Nolan said, forcing himself to step over the threshold - this was Travis, his _best friend._ There was nothing strange about it.

“Guess this means you’re taking the first shower then,” Nolan smirked, snipping some tape off once he’d placed the bag over Travis’s arm.

“I can wait,” Travis offered with a shrug.

“No, you’re fine.” Nolan got to work, covering the majority of the bag in tape - better safe than sorry.

“I think it’s good now,” Travis chuckled, all but pushing Nolan away from his arm, which now bore almost a _whole_ roll of tape. Nolan flashed him a sheepish grin as he dropped the tape to the bed.

“Towels are in the cupboard,” Nolan said, glancing toward the ensuite. “Shampoo and conditioner are where they always are.”

“I _have_ showered here before,” Travis smirked, Nolan stuck his tongue out at him.

Nolan turned to his phone as Travis made his way into the ensuite, pulling the door to. A moment later the water started and Nolan listened as the water smacked against the porcelain tiles. He didn’t hear the sound of the shower door.

“ _Pat!_ ” Travis called, the water promptly stopping. With a sigh, Nolan dropped his phone to the bed.

“What?” Nolan called.

“How am I supposed to wash my hair?” Travis asked, and he actually had a good point.

“With one hand?” Nolan suggested, it wasn’t as if it was _impossible._

“I _can’t,_ ” Travis whined, because apparently he _did_ think it was impossible. When Nolan didn’t answer straight away, Travis moaned, “ _Nolan._ ”

With a groan, Nolan pushed himself up off the bed - seriously, his best friend was _exasperating._

“Help me?” Travis asked as Nolan pushed the ensuite door open and came face to face with-- a _naked_ Travis.

“ _Jesus,_ ” Nolan exclaimed, bringing a hand up to shield his eyes. “Could you not put some clothes on?”

“Well, I’m about to get in the shower,” Travis pointed out, “so not really.”

“A towel?” Nolan asked desperately, Travis merely _tsked_ under his breath.

“Look, will you help me or not?” Travis asked with a sigh.

Nolan slowly pulled his hand away from his eyes - Travis wanted _Nolan_ to help him _shower?_

“ _Help?_ ” Nolan asked stupidly.

“Yes,” Travis nodded. “Help wash my hair.”

“You want me to help you _shower?_ ” Nolan asked, because he _really_ needed this spelt out.

“I need you to help me wash my hair,” Travis said with a sigh. “Look, if you’re going to be all weird about it, forget it.”

“I’m _not_ being we--” Nolan stopped, because he supposed he was being a _little_ weird - not that he thought that was irrational. “ _Isn’t_ it a little weird?”

“No,” Travis said vehemently. “We always shower together - _well,_ in the same room - and we’re best friends, right? It’s only weird if we _make_ it weird.”

“ _Okay…_ ” Nolan said slowly. _It’s only weird if we make it weird_ \- that was fine, Nolan just wouldn’t make it weird.

“Thanks, man,” Travis said, flashing Nolan a grin; he turned back to the shower, giving Nolan an unobstructed view of his muscular ass and turned the water back on. Nolan averted his gaze.

“I’m gonna get all wet,” Nolan complained, not that he _really_ cared - he was going to shower straight after, after all.

“Take your clothes off then,” Travis said simply, stepping into the shower.

Nolan gaped at Travis - _take your clothes off then,_ he was pretty sure _that_ crossed the weirdness line, not that the whole situation wasn’t weird anyway.

“Pat?” Travis prompted, hair already dripping wet from the heavy stream of water.

Right, Nolan was _not_ going to make this weird. He removed his hoodie and sweats in quick succession and stepped into the shower in nothing but his boxers.

“Got something to hide?” Travis smirked, glancing down at Nolan’s underwear.

“Keep saying stuff like that and I’m going to think that you _want_ to see it,” Nolan said, reaching over Travis and retrieving the shampoo. Travis didn’t deny it, just simply shrugged.

Okay, _that_ was a little weird.

“Come over here,” Nolan instructed, popping the cap on the shampoo and squirting a large glob of coconut and vanilla into his hands. Travis stepped forward, eyes locked on Nolan as he came to a stop in front of him. The top of Travis’s head came to around Nolan’s nose, but he tilted his head back as Nolan worked fingers through his hair, holding his gaze.

“Does this feel good?” Nolan asked as he dragged his nails over Travis’s scalp - the silence was getting a little too overwhelming, a little too intense.

A nod would have been good enough, or a “yeah, that feels great,” _instead_ Travis let out a moan. An _actual_ moan. The sound was low and guttural and seemed to ricochet off the four walls that surrounded them, it was also pretty hot, which was totally _not_ what Nolan should have been thinking.

His hands faltered in Travis’s hair.

“Shit, sorry,” Travis said, grey eyes wide as he looked at Nolan, the tops of his cheeks were flushed pink. “I, erm, didn’t mean to do that.”

“It’s fine,” Nolan shrugged, working the last of the shampoo into Travis’s hair. He cracked a smirk, “I’ve got magic hands, eh?”

“Fuck yes,” Travis said, and Nolan was pretty surprised that he hadn’t argued. “That feels so fucking good.”

And just because he liked to please his best friend, Nolan resumed the scratching, a little harder this time.

Travis’s eyes flickered shut and he rose to his tiptoes, as if trying to shove his whole _head_ into Nolan’s hands. Travis moaned _again,_ and instead of scaring Nolan off like it probably _should_ have done, he carried on.

By the time Nolan had washed the conditioner out of Travis’s hair, his face was flushed and his head was hung forward, letting Nolan rake his fingers through his hair. Nolan had found Travis’s weak spot - a spot just above the nape of his neck - and every time his nails came into contact with it, a moan would slip from Travis’s lips. If Nolan focused on that spot a little more, nobody had to find out.

Nolan was just about to call it a day - _he_ still needed to shower - when Travis shifted underneath him.

“You good?” Nolan asked, scared he’d accidentally knocked Travis’s arm or something.

“Fine,” Travis started, he stopped with a sigh. “I’m really fucking horny.”

That was _not_ what Nolan had anticipated.

“Horny?” Nolan asked - it wasn’t exactly _surprising,_ the shower was hot and steamy and if Travis’s moans were anything to go by, he was _really_ enjoying this massage. Nolan couldn’t say he wasn’t a little turned on too.

“Yep,” Travis said, pulling away from Nolan. He turned to face him, showing Nolan his completely _hard_ dick. _Yeah,_ he was _definitely_ horny.

“Wow,” Nolan said, because what else was he _supposed_ to say? He was pretty sure this wasn’t _normal_ best friend behaviour, in fact he was almost _certain._

“ _Wow?_ ” Travis repeated with a laugh. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know,” Nolan shrugged, the heat of the shower - or was that something else? - suddenly seeming _way_ too much, too stifling. “You want me to hop out and you can jerk off real quick?”

Travis paused for a moment, bottom lip sucked into his mouth, as if he was really mulling over Nolan’s suggestion. Finally, he sighed.

“I can’t use my hand,” Travis said, waving the plastic bag _monstrosity_ in Nolan’s face.

“So use the other one then,” Nolan shrugged.

“I can’t,” Travis said quietly. “It doesn’t work.”

Nolan was about to ask what he meant by _it doesn’t work,_ but stopped when he noticed Travis staring at him. Eyes wide and expectant.

“What?” Nolan asked, pulse racing. Travis couldn’t _possibly…_

“You said you’d help me,” Travis shrugged, looking _way_ too confident for someone who was standing stark naked - bar a plastic bag encased wrist - in front of their best friend and asking them for help with _masturbating._

“ _Help?_ ” Nolan squawked. “ _What?_ No.”

“Come on, Pat,” Travis huffed. “ _I’d_ help you.” Nolan found _that_ very hard to believe, but it wasn’t the fact Travis had _asked_ him for help that made him so set against the idea, it was the fact that Nolan hadn’t been completely averse to it in the first place. In fact, he’d almost _hoped_ Travis was going to ask him.

“ _Travis…_ ” Nolan muttered, because what else _could_ he say?

“Nolan, _please,_ ” Travis begged. “It doesn’t mean anything. It’s only weird if we _make_ it weird.” And there were those words again, the words that apparently made Nolan throw all his morals out of the window because he found himself nodding. _Nodding_ to give his best friend a handjob. _Jesus,_ this was weird.

“Fine,” Nolan relented, “but this is just a favour, right?”

“Of course,” Travis said, backing up so he was leaning against the far wall. “Just a favour.”

That was enough reassurance for Nolan, he followed Travis, boxing him in.

“What should I--” Nolan started, he shook his head. “What do you want me to do?”

“Whatever you’d do to yourself, but to me,” Travis said, giving Nolan a winning smile. “But _quickly,_ please.” He gestured down to his dick, “I need to come.”

The words hung in the air - he couldn’t _believe_ Travis was saying them to _him_ \- yet it didn’t put Nolan off, he reached out and held Travis’s dick.

The feeling of Travis’s dick in his hands was strange yet _right_ at the same time, like Travis’s dick was _made_ to be held in Nolan’s hand - Nolan didn’t want to think about what _that_ meant.

Travis’s eyes rolled back as Nolan made his way down, grip tightening when he reached the base. He worked Travis like _he_ liked to be worked, slow and languid and then fast and heavy; based on the amount of pre-cum dripping from Travis’s slit, he was enjoying it. It would be a lie if Nolan said he wasn’t enjoying it either, one look at his tented boxers and you could call his bluff.

Nolan worked Travis quickly, using the pre-cum as lube as he slid his hand up and down. Travis let out a low groan which sent a shiver down Nolan’s spine as Nolan rubbed his thumb over the head of Travis’s swollen dick.

“I’m going to come,” Travis gritted out, left hand gripping onto Nolan’s broad shoulder _so_ tight it was sure to leave bruises. For some reason that turned Nolan on even _more._

With a small noise of acknowledgement, Nolan made his way down to the base of Travis’s dick, the dark hair there soft against his hand. Much to Travis’s dismay, he pulled his hand away, but the contact was only lost for a second before Nolan started to fondle Travis’s balls. His touch was soft and light, careful not to hurt Travis.

If the low moan Travis let out wasn’t enough to show Travis’s enjoyment, the cum that erupted from his dick surely was. His head flopped back against the wall, dark hair in his eyes, cheeks flushed prettily, and that was enough to set Nolan off.

Nolan felt like a teenager as he jizzed in his boxers, but he just couldn’t help it, not when Travis was in front of him looking like _that._ So wrecked, so… _hot._ Nolan had done that to him.

They come down from the high together, chests heaving as their shallow breaths echoed around the shower. The water had long gone cold but neither one of them noticed.

“Fuck,” Travis said finally, rubbing a hand over his eyes. “That felt good.”

“Mm.” Nolan wanted to tell him that it _had_ felt good, but he couldn’t, couldn’t find his voice.

“Thanks, man,” Travis said, rolling his head sideways so that he was facing Nolan. “You really _do_ have magic hands, eh?”

Nolan just laughed, he didn’t know what to say, things felt surprisingly normal between the two of them.

Travis misinterpreted Nolan’s silence for discomfort and his smile slipped from his face.

“This doesn’t make things weird between us now, right?” Travis asked, grey eyes wide. “I mean, we both got off, whatever. We’re best friends, it doesn’t mean anything.”

“Nope,” Nolan shook his head. “Things aren’t weird between us.”

“Good,” Travis said, megawatt smile returning full-force. He quirked a brow, “You sure you haven’t done that before? You’re very good with your hands.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment?” Nolan said, brow creasing into a small frown. “And no, I _haven’t_ done that before, thank you very much. I’ve just got magic hands, as we’ve already ascertained.”

“Oh, we’ve _certainly_ ascertained,” Travis grinned, clapping Nolan on the back. “Thanks for making a shitty day a little less shit.”

“No problem,” Nolan said, giving Travis a goofy smile of his own.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Scrawny by Wallows.
> 
> I love Nolan and Travis and just wanted to write this lol, I hope you enjoyed it! I'm not sure if I'll write more on this or not.  
> Kudos and comments are appreciated!<3


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